[2][3] Norene Gilletz was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Belle (née Winer) and Max Rykiss.
She spent her formative years in Winnipeg's North End and River Heights neighbourhoods, and attended Kelvin High School.
[4] She won a scholarship to study German at the University of Manitoba, but ultimately attended secretarial college.
[5] Gilletz moved to Montreal in 1960, where she raised her family, later relocating to Toronto.
[6] Her writing career began in 1968 with the release of Second Helpings, Please!, edited by Gilletz and published by the Mount Sinai Chapter of B'nai Brith Women of Canada.